Tex-Mex Quinoa

Funny story: when finding this recipe it was called "Mexican Quinoa." I was telling my friend Gerardo, who is Mexican, what I made. His response, "How is that Mexican?" So I respond with the ingredients that goes in it and in the most frank and funny way he goes, "Chika that does not sound Mexican ... maybe Tex-Mex." I stop and think. Although it was funny, my passion and my research interests involve a lot of multicultural competence and diversity -- and I thought "hmm ... that is right!" And so I renamed it, Tex-Mex Quinoa ... after all food blogging could use a little reality check, right?

I have been seeing a lot of "quinoa" recipes floating around. And I kept thinking, what is this qunioa I keep seeing. Seemed a little organic hippie like to me -- but I am always for becoming a little more hippie. Plus people were always raving about how healthy it was and I could do a little more healthy too. Well I found a recipe using quinoa that sounded yummy and looked easy enough -- so why not try it? And I am glad I did!

I did not do a Favorite Recipes of 2014 because, well, I did not post very much. I was a very bad food blogger. But I know for sure that this recipe is going to be on my Favorite Recipes of 2015. I LOVED this recipe. This dish is filling, spicy and delicious. But don't worry if you do not like spicy -- you can make it less spicy! What more could you want? So now I am on a quinoa kick -- looking for yummy and creative ways or using quinoa. 

TEX-MEX QUINOA

From Damn Delicious

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1 (4 oz.) can of diced jalapenos
1 pound of ground meat (I used turkey)

2 (10 oz) cans of enchilada sauce
1 c. quinoa
1 (15 oz.) can of black beans
1 (14.5 oz) can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 c. of corn kernels  
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 avocado, sliced

Garnish: lime, cilantro

DIRECTIONS

In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute garlic and jalapenos until fragrant. Add in ground meat and cook through and browned. Discard any remaining liquid. Stir in enchilada sauce,  quinoa, black beans, diced tomatoes, and corn. Reduce heat and simmer until quinoa is cooked. Fold in taco seasoning 1 tbsp. at a time until desired taste is reached. Top with avocado slices. Garnish as desired.

Enjoy,

Sloppy Joe Tater Tot Casserole

I could use a little less stress. I thought after matching the stress would ease up a bit. I did get a little break for about 1 month to just de-stress but then reality sunk in. I just matched to a site that is 1800 miles away! A place that I do not have time to fly up there and find a place in person ::sigh:: Finding a place all online ...YIKES! And when I visited for the interview ... I was there for about 12 hours before I had to fly out to the next interview. Don't you just hate when reality smacks you in the face and reminds you that your an adult...

Though I am still stressed, a few things came together for us. First, I got help from someone who knows the area well and could tell me what areas were safe/quiet. Then, I stumbled upon a really cute  listing that although did not want to accept dogs -- with a little bit of discussion and letter from our current landlord was open to it and said yes! I am going to take this coming year to show them that some dog owning tenants can be great :) Eapecially the food blogging ones because we come with dessert ;)

It is a 2-story town house with a basement and washer-dryer in unit (yesss). It has two decks for Ninja to spend some outdoor time on (Ninja loves sun bathing). It's in a safe and quiet area of town. It has a garage parking spot! AND the landlords seem really sweet and responsive ::fingerscrossed:: this works out. I also booked our moving truck! I celebrated this week full of findings and decisions made with ice cream. The hubby found this delicious hazelnut ice cream for me (it doesn't taste too much like hazelnut but i is yummy).

Here's another catchup post on a recipe I made awhile back. I had a random can of "Manwich" in my cupboard ... no doubt something the hubby picked up because he found it on sale. HA! And I thought how in the world can I use this -- well I found this recipe for a Sloppy Joe Tater Tot casserole and the rest was history and so was this dish because we ate it up waaaaayyy to quickly :)

Sorry for the excessive dried green onions -- I went to sprinkle some and a whole lot tumbled out!

SLOPPY JOE TATER TOT CASSEROLE

Adapted from Buns in My Oven

INGREDIENTS

Preheat Oven to 450F Degrees

1 tbsp. garlic (optional)
1/2 c. of diced onion
1 pound ground meat (I used ground turkey)
1 (15.25 oz) can of corn, drained
1 can of Manwich Bold Sloppy Joe Sauce
4 oz. cream cheese
2 c. shredded cheese (I used Mexican blend)
16 oz. bag of tater tots, slightly thawed
Diced green onions for garnish

DIRECTIONS

In a large skillet heat 1 tbsp. of olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, saute garlic and onions until garlic is fragrant and slight browned, and onions are translucent. Add in ground meat and cook through. Drain any excess liquid. Stir in corn, Manwich and cream cheese. Continuing stirring until cream cheese melts and is evenly distributed.

Grease a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. Pour Sloppy Joe mixture into dish. Top with 1 c. of shredded cheese. Arrange the tater tots, in a single layer, on top of the cheese. Sprinkle the remaining 1 c. of shredded cheese over the tater tots. Bake for 20 minutes until or until tater tots are golden brown and warm. Garnish with green onions.

Enjoy,

Taco Lettuce Wraps

Each year I make the hubby an Easter basket (read here to find out why). But since I started doing this 3 years ago, I think I have significantly upped my "man basket" game. Sadly, upping for me means making them extremely girly :: cheesy smile :: In all fairness, the hubby is not your typical dude. He does not drink alcohol and he does not like "man food" like frozen dinners and beef jerky. The hubby is more a try really different foods all the time kinda guy.

(as you can see I really love decorating cards)...

We do not live in a town with Whole Food or Trader Joe's (I am soooo excited to be moving to a city that does), but we do have a similar place that I love called Village Foods. So each year for Easter, I go there specifically to buy the hubby his Easter goodies. He says he does not care but I actually know he gets really excited to see what I got him. I also try to make Ninja a "Ninja face basket." But this year his birthday was the day before and since he got so many things, we did not do a basket but let him have an extra slice of cake :)

Fun story before the recipe. As a person raised in California you can always get things "carb-less" like lettuce wrapped chicken sandwich at McDonald's. When I moved to Texas, I went to a McDonalds and asked for a lettuce wrapped chicken sandwich. They had no idea what I was saying and looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language..HA!

Ok -- recipe -- I really loved lettuce things like the lettuce cups at P.F. Changs...mmmmm ...And who doesn't love TACOS! This is a fun and healthy way to enjoy both. You can enjoy your taco fix. Enjoying the fiesta tasting protein all while being healthy and having a fresh carb free wrap! So yum! And a one pan recipe, so easy clean up! Plus it lasts for a few days (at least four a family of two).

TACO LETTUCE WRAPS 

Adapted from the Damn Delicious

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 pound of ground meat (I use turkey)

1 (15.25 oz) can of corn, drained
1 (15 oz) can of black beans, drained 
1 c. salsa
1 packet of taco seasoning
lettuce spears   (washed and dried)
toppings: pico de gallo, shredded cheese, cilantro, sour cream (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add ground meat and cook until browned. Drain excess fat, reserving about 1 tablespoon. Stir in corn and beans cooking for about 3-5 minutes, until all liquid has evaporated. Pour in salsa and taco seasoning mixing until evenly distributed.

Scoop mixture into lettuce spears. Top with chosen garnishes such as pico de gallo, shredded cheese, cilantro sour cream. 

Enjoy,

Crockpot Hamburger Hash

::guilty face:: I disappeared again. But I have a good excuse! This year, I applied for residency/internship...my last step in getting my doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology...when I can call myself "Dr. For the Love of Dessert" ;)  The whole process is insanely time consuming. I started applications in July submitted them in October. I know?!? They take months to prepare. Thankfully, I got interviews at almost all the sites I applied to, except 3. But this process works on a timeline SO all interviews take place in the months of December, January, and a few in February (mostly January), our rank lists were due February 4th and Match Day was February 20th.

What does that all mean? Well, all my interviews were in January (minus 1), so I had 14 places to visit in that month. Each in a different city and mostly state. So there was a A LOT of traveling. Back-to-Back and cross country. Because of the tight schedule (I interviewed almost every other day and sometimes weekends), I did not have time to fly back home :( ... No hubby or Ninja for a whole month! I flew off January 4th and did not come home until February 2nd. I missed them like CRAZY!

17 flights, 3 trains, 1 mega bus and 9 hotels (because I have lovely family that let me couch surf). All out of one carry on suit case and a personal item. Late nights, early morning and all day interviews. If I don't fly or stay in a hotel for awhile...I shall be a happy camper. I met some amazing people though and I matched :) . I will be doing my residency up in the Northeast. So the southern warm bodies that are the hubby, Ninja and I will be making our way up ..yikes!

To celebrate I wanted to share one of my favorite recipes. Rarely do I EVER make a recipe twice. And when I do it is usually because it's a recipe I made when I first started this blog and did not know how to photograph the food. But I fell in love with this recipe and have made it at least 4 times since... which should say a lot. Not only does it check the box of "easy peasy" which is a must for my favorite recipes but it is so om-geeee good. This recipe makes quite a bit of food and so I happily ate bowls of this for days haha. I also add red pepper flakes, because I like the spiciness :)

CROCKPOT HAMBURGER HASH

Adapted from Betty Crocker

INGREDIENTS 

3 pounds of ground meat (I use turkey)
6 oz can of tomato paste
1 (10.75 oz) can of condensed cream of mushroom
1 (10.75 oz) can of condensed cream of chicken
3/4 c of water
Bag of frozen pepper and corn blend (or some variation of)

1 (28 oz) bag of O'Brien potatoes with onions and peppers, thawed* 
1 tsp. salt
Shredded cheese

*I really like potatoes so, I sometimes use 2 bags, but this makes the recipe less "saucey"

DIRECTIONS

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook ground meat until browned. Drain excess liquid. While meat is cooking, in a small bowl, combine tomato paste, condensed soups, and water. Fold sauce into cooked ground meat until well incorporated. 

Coat slow cooker with cooking spray. Spread half of the potatoes across the bottom of slow cooker. And then half the veggies. Pour meat and vegetable mixture on top of potatoes. Then cover meat mixture with remaining veggies and potatoes. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3-4 hours -- until potatoes are tender. Stir ingredients together. Garnish with shredded cheese.

Enjoy,

Ravioli Bake

I left off wanting to share with y'all some of my travels, starting with this summer. My first trip was to San Juan, Puerto Rico for a conference. I went to the Castillo San Cristoball.

I then roamed the cobblestone streets of Old San Juan. Where I picked up a strawberry-tamarind popsicle.

I ate lots of yummy food :) I went to the highly recommended Raices where I got to try mofongo for the first time. I cannot stress how delicious this dish is. It's mashed plantains (but not sweet) topped with onions and meat. mmmmm.... I also, of course, enjoyed some empanadas.

I ended with a trip to Fajardo Bay to take part in a Bio-luminescent Bay tour. This was one of the coolest experiences I have ever participated in! It is a nighttime kayak tour through water that glows at the touch due to luminescent dynoflagellate. It is as amazing as it sounds!

And then I said "bye" to the beautiful Peurto Rico...I hope to see you again soon!

Before I say goodbye for today and knowing my streak...we never know how long I'll be gone ;) I wanted to share with you this recipe for a ravioli bake. This recipe not only is easy to make but you also don't need a lot of ingredients to whip it up. It's easy peasy all around, and well, that is my favorite kind of dinner :) The hubby and I both enjoyed it. The combination of cheese ravioli layers with a meat-marina sauce is absolutely delicious! I hope you enjoy it too.

RAVIOLI BAKE 

Adapted from Kraft 

INGREDIENTS 

Preheat Oven to 400F Degrees

1 tsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. diced garlic
1 lb. ground turkey (or beef)
24 oz. jar of marina sauce
1 (14-15 oz) can of diced tomatoes (drained)
2- 1 lb packages of cheese ravioli 
8 oz. shredded cheese (I used Mexican Style)

DIRECTIONS

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic until fragrant. Add in ground meat and cook until browned. Next, stir in marina sauce and diced tomatoes until warm and evenly distributed within the meat mixture. Set aside.

Grease a 7 x 11 or similar sized baking dish (9x13). Place one layer of ravioli in the baking dish. Top with a layer of meat-marina mix followed by a layer of shredded cheese. Repeat once more. You should now have a layer of shredded cheese on top. Now top with one last layer of ravioli and finally one last layer of shredded cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Uncover the ravioli bake and bake uncovered for an additional 15 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Enjoy,